Page 188 of Blackwood

Bella beams and looks to the crowd. “Everyone say hi, Millie!”

“Hi Millie!” the crowd echoes back.

Bella shifts her weight, carrying Millie back and forth in front of our section like she’s giving a speech at the damn UN. “Millie here wants to be in The Trifecta tonight. Right, babe?”

Millie nods with all the force of a kid who believes this moment is her actual Disney moment.

“Okay, so we’re gonna teach you how to fly.You think you can do that?”

Millie nods again, braver now. Bella kisses the top of her head.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. “Why does Bella holding a kid do things to me?”

Cade leans over, voice low and mocking-sweet. “Because you’ve officially crossed over into softdom. Welcome, babe.”

Bella sets Millie down gently. “Alright Millie. First, you’re going to practice with us girls, okay?”

The Trifecta help guide Millie up into a little cradle lift. Nothing too high, just enough for her to squeal and wave. She lands perfectly and immediately throws her arms around Bella’s neck.

“You’re a natural,” Bella says, laughing.

“Okay, now the boys are gonna do it,” she adds, adjusting Millie’s bow. “They’re stronger than us.”

Millie gives a determined nod and Josh lifts her up into the air like she’s made of light. The crowd loses it. When she comes back down, Millie runs to hug all three girls before her mom comes down from the stands, misty-eyed and overwhelmed. The Trifecta wraps around her—posing for pictures, letting Millie shine like the tiniest queen in the stadium.

Dad exhales next to me. “Well, I’ll be damned. They really do run this place.”

♥♥♥

The game’s back in full swing. The crowd’s roaring and the stadium lights blaze down like we’re in a damn NFL arena. My bestie really is a master with lighting. The Wolves are up, but barely. Titans aren’t giving them an inch. The tension’s thick enough to cut with a knife.

“That’s pass interference, Ref!” Bella shouts from her spot on the sideline, hands cupped around her mouth. “Throw the damn flag!”

Dad chuckles beside me. “Your girl’s got some lungs on her.”

“Oh hell yeah, she’s competitive as fuck. Fits right in, huh?”

The flag flies a second later.

“Thank you!” Bella shouts again.

“Definitely Barinov material.” Dad laughs, shaking his head like he’s both impressed and slightly terrified.

“So… where exactly is Mom?”

Dad exhales through his nose. “Moscow. With your uncle.”

“Of course.”

“Big deal, apparently. Some multi-million-dollar shipment going south. They’re trying to smooth things over before anyone starts shooting each other in a boardroom.”

I groan, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “I just really wanted her to be here to meet Bella. She’s so close with Cade’s family. Hell, she’s practically a Whitmore. Calls ClayDadand everything, and I just… I just wanted that for us.”

Dad nods slowly, watching Bella scream at the field again as Callum narrowly misses a sack from Rez.

“Run the damn ball, Cal!” she yells, stomping once like it’ll help move the chains.

“She’s a firecracker,” Dad says, then turns back to me. “Alright, here’s the deal, son. When your mom gets back, I’ll talk to her. We’ll set something up. Brunch, maybe. You know how much she loves a good brunch. The woman can’t say no to a white tablecloth and bottomless mimosas.”